As your plane touches down at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport, you can start getting excited. Your 8-day adventure through the High Sierra is about to begin. The first thing you need to do is rent a car. You are going to need it. The Reno/Lake Tahoe has a few different options for this.

About an hour from the airport is the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel. A confirmation will have been sent to your email when you booked this.

Once you get unpacked and settled get ready to spend some time on the water. 10 minutes from the hotel is the Zephyr Cove Resort where you can take a scenic sightseeing cruise to Emerald Bay aboard the M.S. Dixie II. You will need to book this cruise in advance. This cruise will take you on a two and half hour cruise across Lake Tahoe to Emerald Bay.

Hitting dry land again, it’s time to lose those sea legs. A quick 45 minute trip from Zephyr Cove Resort is Emerald Bay State Park.

Seeing Lake Tahoe and Emerald Bay from above is a great way to finish off your first day in the area. Hiking trails, picnic shelters, wildlife viewing, and museums are only scratching the surface of the number of things to do at Lake Tahoe and Emerald Bay

Well rested and ready for action, your first stop on Day 2 should be the Tahoe Adventure Company. Pick your poison; mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, rock climbing or specially customized adventures. Any reservations for bikes should be made at least an hour in advance, as they have a limited supply. Thirst for adventure not yet whetted, a three-hour scenic drive from Tahoe Lake Resort is the Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

This state park has plenty of activities for everyone, but the spectacular South Grove is well worth a visit. This five-mile hike takes you through a grove of giant sequoias in their natural setting. The scenery and the chance for re-connecting with nature are second to none.

One hour away from Calaveras is the Groveland Hotel. Located in Tuolumne, this historic hotel is based close to Yosemite. Get checked in and get ready for dinner. There are many options in the area but we would recommend the Iron Door Saloon, the oldest continually operated saloon in California.

Day three is train day, of course! A short two and half hour drive from Tuolumne is the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. Founded in 1965, the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad takes passengers on an hour-long ride through mountains where lumberjacks felled mighty trees and flumes carried lumber from the mountains to the valley below.

After your ride through history, it’s back in the car again for a two and half hour drive to Sequoia National Park.

Before entering the park, though, we recommend a quick bite to eat. Try the Pita Kabob in Visalia.

Exploring Sequoia National Park is one of those lifetime experiences you won’t forget. Walking beneath those cathedral-like trees will install within you a sense of child-like wonder. Of course, there is so much to do in Sequoia, but no trip would be complete without a visit to General Sherman, the world’s largest tree.

After Sequoia National Park, it’s back to Visalia for dinner and a well-deserved sleep. There are plenty of quality hotels for you to choose from. A great place to eat is The Southern Pacific Depot.

Today you head to that iconic American park, Yosemite. With its lofty granite summits and the fairy-tale like Yosemite Valley, this scenic drive will render you speechless for its grandeur. Stop at the historic town of Wawona and the Big Trees Lodge for lunch. Located near the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias it is an excellent chance to stretch your legs. After lunch and a bit of a walkabout, it’s an hour drive to Yosemite Valley before heading on to Bishop. Just before entering the Valley you’ll come to Tunnel View one of the most photographed vistas in the world. Once you enter Yosemite Valley, stop and take the free shuttle to the many Valley iconic spot such as Yosemite Falls, Half Dome Village and El Capitan. One and a half hours from the Valley is the unsurpassed Tioga Pass. With views to infinity along the backbone of Yosemite, this is a great place for photos. Just ten minutes further on is a not-to-be-missed dinner at the Whoa Nellie Deli. From here it is another one and a half hours to Bishop.

Again, for a place to stay for the night, there are many quality hotels to choose from, but the Vagabond Inn is low-key with many great amenities.

Start your day a little slower today with an easy breakfast in town. Try Jack’s Waffle Shop, a local breakfast icon. After your morning fuel, explore Bishop Creek Canyon. A short 20-minute drive from downtown Bishop. Fresh air, granite peaks, pristine lakes, and summer wildflowers, this is a great area to have a quick sabbatical after all your time on the road.

From Bishop, plan for a 45-minute drive to Mammoth Lakes. The first thing you will want to do is grab a bite at the Eatery, inside Mammoth Brewing Company. After lunch, head to the Wave Rave, a local snowboard and outdoor shop and rent an electric bike to ride the bike path network in Mammoth Lake Basin. This 5.3-mile paved multi-use path connects the North Village to Horseshoe Lake and passes many popular Mammoth Lakes attractions.

Time your bike riding just right so that you can drive 30 minutes to Mono Lake to catch the sunset. Mono Lake is an oasis in the dry Great Basin and a vital habitat for millions of migratory and nesting birds.

Plan to stay the night in Lee Vining. Again, Lee Vining has many places to choose from but the Yosemite Gateway is a fun place with views of the lake. Try dinner at The Mono Inn.

After breakfast, a great way to truly appreciate the unique geology of Mono Lake is to take the quick drive from Lee Vining to the South Tufa area. The South Tufa area is rich with tufa, which is formed when fresh water springs containing calcium bubble up through the carbonate-rich lake water. The South Tufa area has a trail that allows you to walk among these giant spires, some reaching 30-feet tall. After your hike through the eons, we recommend heading back to the Whoa Nellie Deli for lunch. (Yes, it’s just that good)

Ready for your ghost walk? Though the likelihood of you seeing a real-life ghost along this walk is not guaranteed, the likelihood of you getting to visit a real-life ghost town is. Just 45 minutes from Lee Vining, Bodie State Historic Park is a genuine California gold-mining ghost town. Visitors can walk down the deserted streets of a town that once had a population of nearly 10,000 people. This is a fascinating site and offers a great look into the history of the gold rush days, and what happens when the gold runs out.

From Bodie head to Truckee for the night. Again, plenty of options for your stay, but we recommend the exquisitely funky and historic Redlight Historic Bunk Hotel and Speakeasy. For dinner, try the Bar of America. The place is as fun as the name suggests.

Get ready to experience one of the most famous and tragic incidents in American History. Located just 9 miles west of Truckee is Donner Pass, named after the ill-fated Donner Party. The Donner Party was a group of American pioneers that set out for California in a wagon train in May 1846. Departing from Independence, Missouri, they were delayed by a series of mishaps and mistakes and spent the winter of 1846–7 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. Some of the pioneers resorted to cannibalism to survive.

Directly before the pass is the Donner Memorial State Park, which is located on the site where the snowbound emigrants spent that winter. The park contains the Emigrant Trail Museum and the Pioneer Monument dedicated to the travelers of the Emigrant Trail.

From Donner Pass, head back through Truckee towards Reno. This is your last day, so it’s time to relax a bit and the Reno Riverwalk District is just the place to do it.

Located in the heart of Reno along the Truckee River, this area has plenty of things to keep you entertained. Want to put some money on Lady Luck instead? Reno has you covered. There is any number of sublime casinos in the area, most of which have free shuttles. Since you are flying out tomorrow, we would recommend finding a hotel near the airport, which won’t be hard to do.